Children's Home run by Progress Children’s Services Ltd in Walsall

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 1 SC038526 Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private organisation operates this home. The home provides care for up to 9 children who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities and/or sensory impairments.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a permanent manager who is suitably experienced and was registered with Ofsted in April 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were 7 children living at the home. Inspectors spent time with all the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/08/2025 Full Good 03/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 3

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Summary of findings

Children have a good experience living in the home. Staff are knowledgeable about children’s needs. They understand children’s preferred methods of communication and are strong advocates for them. Children’s safety and wellbeing are prioritised, and staff take proactive steps to safeguard them. However, there are some gaps in the home’s monitoring systems, which have not consistently identified or addressed areas requiring improvement. In addition, children are not always informed of outcomes following concerns being raised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved into the home and 2 have moved on. Plans are thoughtful and well managed to ensure children are well supported. Children are given opportunities to visit the home and take part in community activities before moving in, helping them become familiar with their new surroundings and the staff team. This approach promotes positive relationships and helps children to develop a sense of familiarity and confidence in those who will be caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of the children they care for. They are highly attuned to their individual needs, including complex healthcare arrangements. They are effective advocates for children’s views, wishes and feelings, ensuring these are consistently considered in their day-to-day care. Staff use a range of communication tools and strategies, including social stories and visual aids, to support children to express themselves and take an active role in decisions about their lives. This helps children to communicate their preferences, understand expectations and participate meaningfully in their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop their independence through individualised targets that are tailored to their specific needs and abilities. These are often presented in visual formats which help children to see their progress and celebrate their successes. Targets aim to develop personalised skills that promote greater independence and confidence. Staff provide consistent encouragement and support, ensuring that progress is recognised and celebrated. Children often receive personalised certificates and verbal praise from staff, who are proud of their successes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive love and nurturing care from staff. One child said they are happy living in the home and like their key-working staff. Other children are happy and relaxed and are consistently smiling when staff are present. Children experience a range of activities in the community which help them to experience new opportunities, such as meals out and trips to the beach. This is often incorporated into meaningful family time when staff plan and support children to make memories with the people who are important to them. This helps to promote positive relationships and strengthens children’s sense of belonging and connection with their families. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 4 There has been progress in meeting children’s cultural needs since the last inspection. However, practice is not yet consistently implemented or sufficiently creative to ensure that all children are supported to regularly explore and maintain their interests, culture

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and identity. The manager has a good understanding of how this can be done more creatively and consistently for children, for example, finding advocates for children with the same cultural needs and exploring local community groups.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is designed to meet children’s needs. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and decorated with pictures of their family. A new sensory garden has been created, providing a relaxing sensory space for children. However, areas of the home require better maintenance, including some of the children’s bedrooms. Required work is not always monitored closely by leaders to ensure maintenance is completed in a timely way.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Few children experience significant incidents or accidents. This is because staff have a strong understanding of children’s individual risks, vulnerabilities and complex health needs. Staff remain vigilant in identifying early warning signs and take proactive steps to ensure children live in a safe and supportive environment. When accidents do occur, staff respond appropriately to manage the situation and reduce the risk of recurrence. There is effective management oversight of incidents and accidents, with regular reviews undertaken to identify learning and inform practice. Monitoring arrangements are in place to promote children’s safety, particularly in relation to health needs, which present the greatest risks in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Since the last inspection, there have been a number of medication errors within a short period. However, no children experienced harm as a result of these errors. Leaders have taken appropriate action to review this and strengthen practice. New systems have been introduced, and all staff have completed additional training. As a result, staff now have a good understanding of children’s medication and processes. There have been no recurring errors following action to strengthen practice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Safe recruitment practices are in place to help ensure children are cared for by suitable adults. Recruitment processes include verification of references and confirmation of applicants’ qualifications and employment histories. This helps to safeguard children and promotes a safe and secure environment in which they can thrive.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When children make allegations against staff, these are taken seriously and reported in line with appropriate safeguarding practice, in a timely manner. This includes informing the local authority designated officer. Allegations are fully investigated. However, outcomes are not shared with children in a way that helps them to understand what actions have been taken and the outcomes of their concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the management team in the home. The registered manager is on a planned leave of absence. An interim manager was appointed in February 2026. She is a familiar face for children as she has stepped up from another role. She has applied to register with Ofsted on an interim basis. Both managers demonstrate a strong understanding of the children in their care and are effective advocates who consistently prioritise children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals share positive feedback on the care children receive and the progress they make while living in the home. One child’s social worker said, ‘[Name of child]’s health needs have significantly improved over the last year.’ Most professionals said the home has no areas for improvement. Leaders and staff work effectively with a wide range of specialist agencies to ensure children receive coordinated and individualised support. This helps to promote positive outcomes for children, ensuring their health, education, emotional wellbeing and social needs are well understood and met. Professionals speak positively about the home and the proactive way staff communicate with them and work in partnership to advocate for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings provide an effective forum for communication, planning and improvement. Attendance is generally good, ensuring that most team members contribute to discussions. Meetings are comprehensive and include detailed updates on each child’s progress and needs. Planning and improvement actions are regularly discussed, supporting reflective practice and promoting continuous improvement in the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they enjoy working in the home and feel well supported by leaders and managers. However, the home has experienced challenges in recruiting permanent staff and remains heavily reliant on agency staff to cover vacancies and maintain staffing levels. The agency staff used are generally consistent, which helps to provide children with continuity of care and familiar relationships. Despite this, there are areas requiring further oversight. Agency staff do not consistently receive the same level of supervision, training and development opportunities as the core staff team. This may limit their knowledge and understanding of children’s individual needs, reducing their ability to provide care that is fully informed by the home’s practices and approaches.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are some gaps in monitoring systems. For example, monitoring systems for training are not yet sufficiently effective to ensure that staff receive required training in a timely manner. In addition, oversight of completed training is not robust enough to ensure that all staff complete role-specific training and training that meets the individual needs of the children they support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders do not always update children’s risk management plans fully or obtain records following care reviews. In some cases, this has been escalated, but leaders have not monitored this or taken appropriate action when responses have not been effective. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 6 The independent person visits the home regularly but does not always share their report in a timely way. For example, Ofsted has not received a report since April 2026. While leaders have taken appropriate action to address this now, this cannot yet be measured for effectiveness. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 7

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure monitoring systems are effective in reviewing and tracking staff training. When consistent agency staff are used, they should receive appropriate training and supervision to support their ongoing development. They should also ensure that regulation 44 reports are received and submitted to Ofsted in a timely manner. In addition, children’s care records must be updated and care records obtained following reviews. Repairs in the home must be carried out promptly. 13 September 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the outcomes of investigations following any allegations made by children are shared with them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.14) Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Progress Children’s Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Progress House, 127 Millfields Road, Wolverhampton WV4 6JG

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Inspectors

Joanne Humphreys, Social Care Inspector Alison Smale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038526 10 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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